Who is Melania Trump’s sister? Inside the First Lady’s close bond with secret sibling
Melania Trump 49, has been married to Donald Trump since 2005. Together they have a son, and she is a step mother to his four children. But what was her family life like before marrying the US president? And who is her sister?
It’s been 14 years since Melania Trump and Donald Trump said ‘I do”. The pair first met in 1998 and have been together ever since. They married in a lavish ceremony which took place at Donald’s Mar-a-Lago estate on 22 January 2005. After the wedding, the former model became the step-mum of Donald’s children, Donald Trump Jr, 41, Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump, 35, and Tiffany Trump, 25. They also have a son together, Barron Trump, 13. Since 2016, the couple have acted as the President and First Lady of the United States.
But what was Melania’s family life like before marrying Donald?
The US First Lady was born on 26 April 1970 in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, to Viktor Knavs and Amalija. As a child, Melania and other children of workers at the factory participated in fashion shows that featured children's clothing.
Who is Melania’s sister?
The 49-year-old has an older sister, Ines, who she’s described as her “longtime confidant.”
Ines Knauss is an artist and is very private about her personal life, although she has shared a number of adorable photos on her Instagram account of her and Melania as children.
According to friends, when the two sisters were young, they sketched clothing designs for their mother to make.
Ms Knauss continued with the passion and became an artist after trying to get into fashion design.
The same source told GQ magazine that Melania would prefer to go home and spend time with her sister after her modelling shoots.
“She didn’t drink, didn’t party, didn’t smoke,” the source revealed.
“Even after she met Jerko (photographer) and began dabbling in modelling, she preferred to go home after work, to be with her equally quiet and reserved sister.”
When Donald and Melania got married at Palm Beach in 2005, Ines was the maid of honour.
According to reports, the 51-year-old received American citizenship last year according to reports.
It’s believed she lives in a Trump-owned apartment in the same Upper East Side building that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump called home, before they moved into their new house in Washington.
It's just four blocks from Trump Tower, where the first lady and Barron live in a triplex penthouse.
Palm Beach philanthropist Audrey Gruss, who has been pictured with both sisters, told the New York Post they "are very close."
She met Ines at a fundraiser for the Boys' Club of New York at Mar-a-Lago in 2005. She says Ines struck her "as a lovely person, and extremely creative."
Fans recently rushed to Melania’s defence on social media, as they asked why the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, hadn’t featured her on her Vogue cover.
Meghan became the first guest editor for the September issue of British Vogue this month.
While she didn’t appear on the cover herself, she hoped readers would be inspired by the 15 other women she put on it.
However, some readers weren’t impressed with many taking to social media to ask why she hadn’t included Melania - who they believed “shined on her UK visit.”
